The BEST of THM 2017 + What’s Coming Up in 2018

It’s crazy to think that this is the last post of 2017! It’s been a wonderful year and a tumultuous year. It’s gone by at lightening speed and crawled by at times. It’s been deliciously sweet and scarily overwhelming. But all in all, it’s been another year for the record books!

In case you’re unfamiliar, each year I do a recap of the top posts of the year based on your favorites and my favorites. For past year’s posts check out: 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016.

This year I decided to break it up into two posts: travel and everything else! My Best of THM Travel 2017 went up last week and today’s post is a recap of everything else + what’s coming up in 2018. If you’re also curious to see the behind-the-scenes of blogging as a business, check out my THM Business Recap as well.

I’m also sharing my Top Favorites of 2017 on my YouTube channel. Every month (with the exception of one!) I shared my favorite health, wellness and green beauty products so I decided to round-out the year with the best of the best. It was so fun putting this together!

More thoughts on everything below so let’s just jump into the post. Here is The Best of THM 2017!

YOUR FAVORITES

1. How To Make a London Fog– This was your favorite post of 2017! I love this recipe and it also reminds me of home even though I still don’t have confirmation if the London Fog is a Canadian thing?!

2. The Engagement– No surprises here…besides my own surprise! This was such a special moment for me and C and while we didn’t capture it while it was happening (I love that it’s special to just us!), I was thrilled we could share in the celebrations with you.

5. Vanilla Bean Chia Pudding– Simple recipes were the name of the game this year, and this easy vanilla bean chia pudding was no exception.

6. What I Wish You Knew About Sponsored Posts– Besides our engagement post, this was actually my favorite post of 2017! It certainly ruffled some feathers, but it also provided a level of transparency that is so needed in the blogging/influencer space.

7. 8 Healthier Store-Bought Snack Bars – I cheated on balls in 2017 and shared my favorite store-bought snack bars. Yo girl doesn’t always have the time or the desire to make everything from scratch so sometimes store-bought is best!

MY FAVORITES

1. The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies (gluten-free!) – When it comes to cookies, 2017 was a good year but I have to say that these cookies come out on top! I was afraid to post them because I worried about how you’d react to the butter and sugar and all that but man are they healthy for the soul!

2. Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Farro Salad – C said this is his favorite recipe of the year and I have to say that I totally agree! We’ve been eating this non-stop for the last few months and it’s been my go-to for all events and potlucks. It’s really a crowd pleaser.

3. Things I’m Afraid To Tell You-I was so scared to share this post with you because I felt so awful for keeping so many secrets from you. In the end, I’m glad how it all played out and am happy I took the time to sort out my feelings before sharing such big news with you. Thank you for being so supportive!

4. Our Engagement Photos and Wedding Planning Update – I’m still in awe at the amazing pictures Bettina was able to capture in our home and hood. I feel so lucky to have such a dear friend who is also an insanely talented photographer. C and I love you B!

5. What is an Emotional Support Animal? – I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expected the flack I got for this post and perhaps should have prepared myself more. In the end I think it ended up being a productive and helpful conversation and I was also blown away by how many of you reached out with support. Thank you!

7. How To Greenify Your Makeup Bag – More than anything else, I get SO many questions about green beauty and where to start. This post was written for anyone who is just getting started on their green beauty journey and I’m thrilled it’s been so helpful for many of you.

8. My San Francisco Apartment Tour – Only took me 9 months to share! Now that the apartment is done, I feel like I want to decorate it all over again, but for now we’re relishing in its completion and I was so happy to share it all with you.

My Favorite Podcast Episodes of 2017:

Episode 31: The Power of Intuition and Authentic Entrepreneurship with Sadie Lincoln from Barre3

Episode 29:Essential Oils and How to Use Aromatherapy to Improve Your Health with Jean-Pierre LeBlanc from Saje Wellness

Episode 32: What is Ayurveda and How to Apply These Practices in Your Everyday Life with Sahara Rose

COMING UP IN 2018

Whew! That’s a lot of posts and content. Clearly it’s been a great year! At the same time, I’m also very excited to kick off 2018 and start exploring some new topics and jumping deep into some old ones. In terms of posts, you can still expect a lot of healthy recipes, green beauty/skincare and self-reflection posts. A few other topics I want to explore more in-depth are: mental health, work-life balance and stress-management. These are all topics we’ll be chatting more about on the podcast as well.

For video, I’m hoping to do more “vlog-style”content as well as providing more recipe videos for you. I have so many delicious recipes that I’d love to create more videos for to make them easier to understand and follow. In addition, I want to do more DIYs to show you guys how to make more household and body care products. I feel like I’ve gotten a bit lazy this year and deviated toward store-bought brands instead of making my own. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE all the products I share, but I know they aren’t always accessible to everybody so I want to make sure there’s options for everyone at all levels of accessibility and price points.

Beyond that, I’ll be slowly down the global travel (besides one exciting trip in January!) and spending more time in San Francisco, exploring our home. I find myself craving more local adventures and challenges and I’m excited to see what comes my way.

Stay tuned for more events (don’t forget to join the events list!) both near and far and one VERY exciting event coming in the Spring. I cannot wait to share the details with you!

* * * * *

I’ll be taking a much needed vacation until the New Year. There won’t be any new posts, videos or podcasts until 2018 and while I know you guys certainly aren’t sitting around waiting for me, I just wanted to give you a heads up! I also hope that you can all find some time to take a break and enjoy time off with your loved ones. I know the holidays can be very busy and overwhelming at times so don’t forget to carve out a little R&R for yourself.

I’m so incredibly grateful to be able to call THM my job. It’s been an incredible 5 year adventure and I couldn’t ask for a better tribe to come along for the ride. I know I say this all the time, but I truly am so grateful for all of you. In many ways, THM feels like a collaborative process and I love that we can work together to make the world a healthier and happier place. So much love to you all and wishing you a very happy holidays! -Davida

What were your top favorites of THM this year? What do you hope to see more of in 2018? Podcasts, videos, posts??? LMK!

DON'T WANT TO MISS A LIFE UPDATE? Join the THM Community!

Join 5000+ members of the THM Community to stay up to date on the latest life happenings and behind-the-scenes of The Healthy Maven!

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

First Name

Email Address

We use this field to detect spam bots. If you fill this in, you will be marked as a spammer.

You Might Also Like...

8 Comments

LOVE this comprehensive recap, and I even saw some posts and podcasts I missed! Also, can I just say that you look AWESOME in burnt orange? Like, that is a great color for you. Super excited to continue following THM in the new year! And enjoy your much-needed and deserved mini hiatus!Kaitlyn @ Powered by Sass recently posted…Dating Someone in the Military: How To Reclaim Your Identity Part II

Nikki

December 22, 2017 at 7:19 am

I’m a long time reader and your blog just keeps getting better! I especially love your podcast. The people you have on it are fantastic and interesting. I’ve learned about some great products through it (thank you!). I would love to see more of the same and work/life balance posts. Self-care is huge for me right now and I’m really starting to see the benefits!

Selena Sharpless

December 22, 2017 at 1:50 pm

Oh Davida there were SO many posts from you this year I resonated with and your writing has such an impact on people, it’s very inspiring 🙂 I especially loved your post To the Women Addicted to Working Out and “I know the Secret to Skinny” which I know wasn’t in 2017 but I constantly find myself going back and rereading that! And your apartment tour was so fun to see, I’m so glad you are loving SF, it is such a great city with an awesome vibe 🙂 I like it a lot better up north versus southern California in terms of adventure and energy. Anyways, enjoy your much deserved time off and I can’t wait to see whats to come of THM in 2018 🙂

P.S. Thank you for all your help too and responding to my lengthy emails! 🙂

You are amazing and this was a fantastic year for all your content; I just clicked on a bunch of these to reread/rewatch because I remember loving them the first time I read them. Love these kinds of recap posts because a lot of time, things do slip through the cracks. I think everything you’re doing is great, and I’m excited for 2018! <3

What an amazing year 2017 was for you! Also super excited for stress management talk and the DYI videos for natural products! I’ve been wanting to make my own natural products so this is perfect. Can’t wait to see what else you have in store for us this year. 🙂Angela | A Serene Pursuit recently posted…12 Tips on How to Make The Most of Every Day

Lovely article for gaining information and it a good thing to know about these kinds of things.Free online date is a truly free dating site with 3 million dating profiles.Enjoy free chat & meet singles with 100% free date app with no credit card.